Northwest Iowa — Tuesday was a hot one in northwest Iowa. In fact, we now know that some records were broken.
National Weather Service meteorologist Alex Trellinger says the highest temperature reported to his office in Sioux Falls was 102, just south of Akron.
That was the temperature in Spencer at 5 p.m. It’s been 97 years since Spencer had a 101-degree day in September — and that 101-degree day back in 1925 was on September FOURTH. Sheldon broke the old record for September 20th of 93 set in 1937, but didn’t break 100. We recorded a high temp of 99. Our latest 100-degree record was set on September 10th, 1931. Things warmed up quickly in Iowa on Tuesday, with temperatures soaring by 11 a.m.
Trellinger says drought conditions played a role in Tuesday’s high temperatures in northwest Iowa, as the sun’s heat bore down on parched ground.
Several other Iowa cities broke high-temperature records Tuesday. Meteorologist Jim Lee of the National Weather Service office in metro Des Moines says a triple-digit temperature had not been recorded on a September 20th anywhere in Iowa for 69 years.
The mercury dipped into the upper thirties in some parts of our area on Thursday morning. Showers and thunderstorms are on tap for Friday but they might clear out by evening. Temps for the next week look to be very seasonal with highs just under 70.
